Options For Manually Moving Material?

[WoodCutr]

the PCW5000 is a solid product, it does weigh about the same as a 5 gallon can of gas so not terribly light to pack into the woods, and it being a 4 stroke it cannot run on its side (which it LOVES to do, its tough to keep it upright)
the little honda engine is excellent, reliable and uses almost no fuel

Pros: portable, uses minimal fuel, can easily control how hard or fast you pull based off how hard you tail the line and wraps on the drum, relatively fast pull for yarding stuff a long distance
cons: heavy, cant run on its side (anchor has to be below the winch and pull it into the ground, if the winch "floats" then it wants to flip over, the solid truck hitch anchor would fix this I think, $1500 price tag is a little steep IMO

 

[CurSedVoyce]

I just found a niche for it. Moves than than a guy or two can handle more efficiently. Does not call in sick etc.
I just keep one foot on the strap to keep it from tipping. The tree and hitch mounts are pricy but might be worth the dimes. I hav had a couple opportunities they would have worked better. The hitch mount may not as this thing will yank a truck sidways with a load. We had the redirect on the pintle winching from a tree and you had to keep an eye on that for the angles.
Works great from my goose neck ball wich also gives me 180* radius to winch from if you drop the sides.
Great tool. Ne regrets. I have the 5000

 

[lxskllr]

Any thoughts on the battery winch(PCW3000-LI)? Top speed is slower than the 5000, but an electric motor simplifies operation. There's concerns about it running out of power, but it's about $1k cheaper, and $1k will buy a lot of spare batteries.

 

[WoodCutr]

spare batteries go bad in a year or two of any serious use, fuel burns and any gas station has some

I personally wouldnt get the electric one due to duty cycle issues, but if you dont run it heavy it should be just fine

this thing will yank a truck sidways

you running a 2:1 or something? the winch only pulls 2200 pounds so I cant see how it would drag a truck (ford ranger doesnt count)

 

[WoodCutr]

pictures for demo purposes only, showing off some of the different anchor options for anyone that may be imagining the winch working while anchored to a tree, ive anchored to trees, trucks, trailers, logs, its an amazing tool once you unlock the ability to look at something and think "yep thats an anchor"
(not specific to this winch, but maybe this helps someone)

the "correct" anchor


the rest, note, as I have it in a few pictures goes againt the instructions, you are supposed to put each "end" of the sling in each hook separately, having the middle of the sling through both hooks is wrong as it pulls them together, I havent had an issue but its possible to break them
also the anchor MUST be an equalizing/sliding anchor else you can overload an individual hook

 

[CurSedVoyce]

Yes, depends on the mechanical advantage you are using to pull the weight and the friction the weight provides dragging it. Or, high line yarding where you use friction as a brake to raise the load and control it as it is being yarded. Pulls truck side ways easier as you only have two wheels footprint to hold the rear or front of the truck. Straight pull in line with the truck, not so much with chocked wheels, not on gravel. Truck not anchored either way.

 

[WoodCutr]

Yes, depends on the mechanical advantage you are using to pull the weight and the friction the weight provides dragging it. Or, high line yarding where you use friction as a brake to raise the load and control it as it is being yarded. Pulls truck side ways easier as you only have two wheels footprint to hold the rear or front of the truck. Straight pull in line with the truck, not so much with chocked wheels, not on gravel. Truck not anchored either way.

ok yeah I get ya, I can totally see dragging a truck easily if you are winching in such a way that lifts the back of the truck a few inches, totally slipped my mind that the back of a pickup isnt nearly half as heavy as the front
I don't think I have ever actually slid a truck with a winch, maybe im not pulling hard enough lol

 

[CurSedVoyce]

Does not need to lift the truck, just breaks the wheels traction. Basically friction coefficient

 

[Nutball]

pictures for demo purposes only, showing off some of the different anchor options for anyone that may be imagining the winch working while anchored to a tree, ive anchored to trees, trucks, trailers, logs, its an amazing tool once you unlock the ability to look at something and think "yep thats an anchor"
(not specific to this winch, but maybe this helps someone)

the "correct" anchor
View attachment 133750

the rest, note, as I have it in a few pictures goes againt the instructions, you are supposed to put each "end" of the sling in each hook separately, having the middle of the sling through both hooks is wrong as it pulls them together, I havent had an issue but its possible to break them
also the anchor MUST be an equalizing/sliding anchor else you can overload an individual hook
View attachment 133751View attachment 133756View attachment 133755View attachment 133754View attachment 133753View attachment 133752

Where's the air filter?

Running tipped over isn't ideal for various reasons, but 1) a fuel tank with a pickup line and clunk, 2) and converting the engine to accept 2 stroke gas through the crankcase with reed valves, 3) and swapping the carb with a chainsaw carb would allow it to run in most any direction.

 

[CurSedVoyce]

Things we have done with portable winch or..... watching paint dry.....
This job basically bought it. Horrible drag and only landing we had. Then mini moved it to the drive way under that deck there.


Yarding... Starts about :29 in

Parbuckle


Winching large loads down steep hills with a haul back line.


We've cleaned a lot of hard access creak beds and arroyos with it. Hauling stuff up hill to landings we could either chip from or forward from. Way better than the ant trail.
Urban setting might not be an ideal application, but rural as we are, or basically wild land interface, bees knees when you need it.
I wish we had video of loading the trailer with it. Gin pole the logs up and land them on the trailer. Bad driveway with no street frontage to park trailer on and we could take 8-12 foot logs the mini could not lift and haul up the driveway. Back trailer next to tree and load it.

 

[WoodCutr]

Where's the air filter?

Running tipped over isn't ideal for various reasons, but 1) a fuel tank with a pickup line and clunk, 2) and converting the engine to accept 2 stroke gas through the crankcase with reed valves, 3) and swapping the carb with a chainsaw carb would allow it to run in most any direction.

air filter was missing when I bought the winch, I never run it in dusty conditions so ordering one was put on the back burner for now, I use the winch every 3 or 4 months so im not too worried, its just one of those things that I usually forget to order when I have time to do it

this engine holds a few ounces of oil, and loses lubrication when on its side so there's a switch to shut if off if the oil level drops below the sensor
I run mine on 2 stroke mix actually since its what I have in the truck, it runs it just fine, I quit carrying straight gas after a nearly expensive mistake


like CV said, you can load a trailer pretty easy, I set my winch behind the trailer and put a block span rigged between the 2 front tiedowns in the box, lift the box about 6ft and winch logs right up into it

 

[CurSedVoyce]

Where's the air filter?

Running tipped over isn't ideal for various reasons, but 1) a fuel tank with a pickup line and clunk, 2) and converting the engine to accept 2 stroke gas through the crankcase with reed valves, 3) and swapping the carb with a chainsaw carb would allow it to run in most any direction.

They make a lighter 2 stroke version as I recall.

 

[CurSedVoyce]

They make a lighter 2 stroke version as I recall.

Nope, I guess not. I thought the hunting version was 2 stroke. Guess they are all 4 stroke. Prices are up a bit from when we bought ours. I guess I got it about 2016. So, if that says anything. It is due for a new capstan and the separator. Dirst gets in the rope and wears the aluminum a bit.

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[friedrich]

i used to own the pcw 5000 but sold it and replaced it with a winch with a „trigger“. total gamechanger as i found it very annoying that you have to switch off the winch when you want to roll a log past an obstacle or for whatever reason. also no rope burns because of turning capstan means you can use more expensive ropes (dyneema).

i think portable winch came out with a trigger model aswell…

 

[WoodCutr]

the smaller portable winch's have a lever on the rope guide pulley, engine idles till you pull on the rope tail, then throttles up
ive never experienced rope burning with mine, although the rope and drum do get hot if you dont tail the rope hard enough and let it slip under heavy load

 

[lxskllr]

JetSled came yesterday at Dark O'Clock, so I didn't have a chance to check it out. I think this'll work pretty well...



Thinking about loops of some kind midway down for lashing a load down. Metal would probably be best(maybe a screwlink), but cord should work too.

 

[flushcut]

T cleat

 

[treebilly]

I was thinking a U bolt so it could drop down out of the way but I like Rajan’s idea better. Quicker tie down and release

 

[lxskllr]

I was looking at these guys on amazon...

https://www.amazon.com/Kayak-Canoe-Cleat-Black-Strong/dp/B01MUGSVIR/ref=sr_1_9?crid=1SXEXRR8KAC4R&keywords=T+cleat&qid=1700927059&sprefix=t+cleat%2Caps%2C197&sr=8-9

Not the strongest things in the world, but it's not like I'd be rigging off of them. What do you think; top, or sides just below the rails? Top's a little more convenient for lashing, but if they were below the rails, it would keep the top free from hanging up on stuff, and the rails would give some protection to the cleats.

edit:
Or maybe even upside down under the rails, but I'd have to have the cleat in-hand to see if the clearance would allow it.

 

[WoodCutr]

ive been eyeballing these, i have zero use for something like it but maybe one of you sees some use? combine this (or a jetsled) with the PCW5000 or lewis winch, and you could nearly keep up with a mini skid
even the light duty ones rated at 1500 pounds, if you had a few guys you could set it up so theres more than one guy pulling to help save everyone's back and legs at the end of the day

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yardglider.com

 

[WoodCutr]

cleats on the sides, if you put them up top then they will be hard to get to once loaded I think
I would probably add some thin sheet steel in a 3-4" circle where the bolts mount the cleats to spread the load, otherwise im thinking the cleats may tear through or crack the plastic